Why Was The Sitcom “Golden Girls” Ground Breaking Television?
“Golden Girls,” an American sitcom that aired from 1985 to 1992, told the story of four single, divorced or widowed women who lived together in a large house in suburban Miami. The show was groundbreaking, because it was the first to portray women close to, or past retirement age not in the traditional role of grandmothers, but as women who still explored edgy topics, such as sex, desire and love. At the time, it was highly unusual to feature a show that focused on the romantic lives of women over 65 years of age. At the same time, the show also emphasized the friendship and sense of community among the four women, played by Beatrice Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty. Each portrayed very different characters. Arthur played the down-to-earth, no nonsense Dorothy, her equally tough mother, Sophia, was played by Getty, White portrayed the naive and innocent Rose Nylund, while McClanahan played Blance, the sexually and romantically very active, southern belle.
